[10] During the demolition of the ruins of the third courthouse, the dome itself was found to have caused some of the destruction: because it was inadequately secured to its foundation, the iron supporting structure had swayed like a pendulum.

[4]: 7–8  The 1910 courthouse was accepted by the county board of supervisors on May 4; the cost was US$220,327 (equivalent to $7,205,000 in 2023) and the architect, Glenn Allen, was awarded 5 per cent of that sum for supervising the construction.

[12][13] A scandal had erupted in 1909 over partial payments made to the contractor before the physical construction was completed, on Allen's recommendation as overseer;[14][15] although those charges were proven untrue,[16] Allen was later accused of bribery in connection with bidding for the landscape improvements around the new courthouse.

[17][18] The 1910 courthouse also served as the seat of the County government;[19] in 1939, the Public Works Administration completed an expansion to the existing courthouse, which removed the original facade; another contemporary addition which was completed in 1941 surrounded the original building with modern structures.

[4]: 13 The courts did not move back to the HJR completely until the 1990s, after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the historic 1910 courthouse.

[24] A civil grand jury recommended in 1999 the HJR structure be retrofitted and that hazardous original construction materials (asbestos and lead paint) be removed.

[28] The Northern District has jurisdiction over matters from the county line south to (and including) Burlingame.